Friendships
by blaze5
Summary: Will Paul's friends be able to help him, when his life starts spiraling out of control.


Don't own any characters except for Lanie  
  
  
  
Friendships  
  
  
While Hunter and Steph were in a romance on screen, Paul and Steph was nothing more than best friends. Steph was in a relationship with Jeff Hardy and Paul to her dismay was currently single. It was not for lack of trying on Steph's part, she had tried setting him up with just about every single woman she knew but nothing had panned out.  
  
It was Monday night and everyone was getting ready for the show to start. Jeff and Steph where sitting in the cafeteria eating some dinner and Steph was trying to think of who she could set Paul up with next. "Steph give it up, Paul will find somebody when his ready, and you pushing every girl you can find at him is not working" Jeff told her. "But Jeff you know how much I want to see him happy, I know that his break up with Jo has been hard."  
  
"I know sweetie and I'm sure he appreciates what you're trying to do but I'm asking you to just back off alittle. Give him a break" he said as he leaned and kissed her.  
  
"Guys must you do that while people are trying to eat and Steph Jeff's right give poor Paul a break. He's been hiding from you all day, afraid of what bimbo your going try to set him up with next" Mark told her as he sat down next to them. Mark Calloway and Paul had been good friends ever since Paul had come to the WWF "Ok, ok I'll back off, and go tell him he can come out of hiding" Steph laughed realizing that she might be pushing alittle to hard.   
  
Paul was relieved when Mark told him that Steph had promised to back off with the matchmaking. He knew that she was just trying to help but he wasn't ready to start a new relationship, not when he wasn't over Joanie yet. Her ending their four-year relationship had been a total shock. He never saw it coming, in fact he had planned on asking her to marry him that night that she ended things, that she had found someone else. That was six months ago and he still carried the ring he had bought for her around with him, he just couldn't bring himself to return it.  
  
Everyone kept telling him to move on that it had been long enough but he just couldn't. So in front off all his friends he acted like he had moved on but when he was alone all he could think about was her and what she saw in him that was so unlovable.  
  
Steph stood at the door of Paul's dressing room watching him. He was sitting on the couch and totally oblivious to the fact that she had been standing there for ten minutes. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had him in such deep thought. She hated Joanie for breaking his heart. How she could do that to such a caring and loving guy was beyond her.  
She knew that he tried to to act like he was over her but she had accidentally come across the ring the other a day. It broke her heart to know that he still had it and was still not over that slut.  
  
Deciding that he had thought about her enough she finally spoke up "hey Paul."  
Jumping slightly when he heard her he answered "hey princess, whatcha doing."  
"I thought we might go over our scripts once more before the show starts."  
"Sure come on in" he said as he made room for her on the couch.  
  
____________________________  
  
Just when Paul was finally starting to break out of his depressing funk, he got hit with another blow. He was sitting in is locker room going over some last minute details before Raw when she walked in.  
  
"Paul it's good to see you" she said as she sat down next to him. He couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked. She had lost some muscle mass and had trimmed down to were she looked more feminine. She no longer had that tough look about her. She was wearing a short leather skirt with a matching halter-top. "It's good to see you to Jo, you are looking more beautiful than ever" he managed to get out.  
  
"Thank you Paul, you know your opinion has always mattered to me."  
  
He was confused as to why she was here, it had been nine months since she walked out on him and he hadn't seen her since. Was she here because she missed him.  
  
Sensing his confusion she said "I know your wondering why I'm here. I wanted to tell you before you heard from someone else. I got married."  
  
Paul felt like he had been punched in the gut, when he heard those words. It was like he couldn't breathe the weight if those words crushing him. He could talk, couldn't do anything.  
  
Jo could she the shock and hurt on his face. She knew that it would be best if she just left. Getting up and walking to the door she paused before leaving "I never meant to hurt you" and with that she walked out.  
  
He just sat there, he couldn't believe that this was it, he had always held out hope that she would come back. Soon the shock wore off and he was left feeling like his heart had been ripped out. He slowly slid down the couch ands sat on the floor letting the tears stream down his face.   
  
_______________________  
  
Steph had just left from talking to Jeff, they had decided that they were better of as friends than as lovers and it had been a very easy breakup, both agreeing to stay could friends. She was making her way down the hall when she saw the she-beast come out of Paul's locker room. She was surprised that the slut had the nerve to show her face around here. Storming over to her she asked "what do you think your doing here."  
  
"It's really none of your business, I had to talk to Paul" she stated.  
  
"You broke up with him, what could you have to talk to him about."  
  
Knowing that she wasn't going to give up Jo went ahead and told her "I had to tell Paul that I had gotten married, I didn't want him" but before she could finish Steph took off running towards Paul's room.  
  
'Oh well didn't want to talk to you anyway' Jo thought as she walked down the hall and out off the arena.  
  
Steph knew that Paul would be hurt and upset but she wasn't prepared to see her best friend crying his eyes out. In the time that she had known him she had never seen him like this before. It broke her heart to see him in so much pain.  
  
She walked over, sat down next to him and pulled him into her arms. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, her holding him as he cried. Finally after some time he looked up at her and said "I've got to get out of here, tell Vince that I'm sorry."  
  
Steph didn't know what he meant "Paul where are you going, let me go with you and what do you have to be sorry for."  
  
Paul was throwing his stuff in his bag when he answered "I have to be alone, please and Vince will know what I mean."  
  
"Paul I...." Steph started but stopped when he hugged her and said "goodbye" walking out the door.  
  
Steph ran out the door and tried to yell out Paul to stop but he kept walking, never looking back and ignoring all the stares.  
  
Mark knew something was wrong when Paul walked right by him, Glenn and Steve and didn't even notice that they were there and then when he heard Steph yelling for him to come back, he knew something was not right.  
  
"Hey baby girl what's going on" he asked pulling her into his arms when she walked over to the three big men.  
  
When Mark hugged her she broke down, she couldn't hold the tears back any longer. Between her sobs she managed to tell them what had just happened.  
  
To say that three of the biggest men in the WWF was angry was an understatement. They couldn't believe the nerve of Joanie coming in here and dropping a bomb like that.  
  
"Guys you have know Paul longer than I have, do you know what he meant about being telling my dad that he was sorry."  
  
They didn't have a clue but they all wanted to find out "Come on sweetheart lets go find Vince and see what it means" Steve told her. So the four of them set off to find Vince and all hoping that Paul would be alright.   
  
  
_________________________  
  
It took thirty minutes to track Vince down and to get him alone to were they could talk to him. Seeing that Steph had been crying Vince was immediately concerned. "Honey what's wrong, why are Mark, Glenn and Steve with you" he asked.  
  
Steph preceded to tell him about Joanie's visit and how she had found Paul. Vince was livid, everyone knew that he thought of Paul as a son. "Steph is Paul still in his room?"  
  
"No daddy, once he composed himself he packed his things and left, but he said something strange before he left."  
  
"What did he say" Vince asked.  
  
"He told me to tell you that he was sorry, do you know what he meant by that."  
  
A very pale faced Vince looked at Steph and the guys "we got find him and find him NOW" he said as he picked up the phone calling security to track Paul down at any cost.  
  
Before Steph could ask what was going on Vince was once more on the phone. Mark, Glenn, Steve and Steph were all worried, they didn't know what was going on, why was Vince in such a panic and why was he talking to Paul's mom.   
  
They only got Vince's side of the conversation but from what they could tell he wanted her to know what was going on and to go stay with Linda until they could find Paul.  
  
"I promise I'll find him and take care of him...yes I'll let know as soon as we find anything out. Bye" he said hanging up the phone.  
  
Steph was getting angry at not knowing what was going on. Jumping up from her chair she practically yelled "DADDY what's going on, Paul is my best friend and their friend we have a right to know."  
  
"Ok sweetie I'll tell you please sit back down and I will tell you but you all have to swear not to let this leave the room" Vince answered.  
  
They all promised but they were not prepared for what Vince had to say.  
  
"Paul is a recovering alcoholic and drug user."  
  
Vince's revelation had the four stunned. Steph was the first to recover from the shock.  
  
"You got to be wrong your talking about Paul, the guy that never drinks anything but water, the same guy that refuses to take anything stronger than Tylenol."  
  
"Steph I'm not wrong."  
  
"Vince when did this happen, I mean I've known Paul ever since he joined and he has never done drugs or drank" Mark spoke.  
  
"It was before he joined, it happened when he was in school with Shane, Steph you was away at boarding school so that's why you don't know."  
  
"What happened daddy, what made him start" Steph begged wanting to know what would drive someone like Paul to drugs and alcohol.  
  
"It was when he was a junior in high school, his home life wasn't good at all, his dad tended to get pretty rough with him, and then one night while he was out on a date with his long time girlfriend they were in a car wreck. She didn't make it."  
  
"Oh poor Paul" Steph cried.  
  
Vince went on to tell them how Paul had fell apart, he didn't know how to deal, so he turned to the booze to numb his pain and when that didn't work he turned to drugs.  
  
"How did you get involved Vince" Steve asked.  
  
"Shane and Paul had been good friends. Shane always talked about how Paul wanted to be a wrestler. I had met Paul on a couple of different occasions and was impressed with what I saw. There was just something about him, something that told me that he would make it, that he could be the best in this business."  
  
Before Vince could finish the phone rang. While he was on the phone, Steph talked quietly with Mark about what they had learned.  
  
"How come he never told us, we are suppose to be his best friends" she asked.  
  
"I don't know, maybe he was ashamed, maybe he thought we wouldn't understand" Mark replied.  
  
Vince hung up the phone and brought the four up to date "that was Jim with security, he said that they haven't found Paul yet, but they are still looking."  
  
"Finish with your story Vince" Glenn demanded, it was the first he had spoken since this had all started.  
  
"One day Shane came home with his face all bloody and bruised and when I asked who did that to him and when he said Paul, I was shocked. Shane and Paul had always been such good friends and Paul had always been polite and well behaved. While Linda helped clean Shane up he told us of how Paul had changed, of how he had started drinking and then doing drugs. That ever since his girlfriend had died that he hadn't been the same. The he told of how Paul's dad was getting rougher with him, that he had been angry at Paul for wrecking the car, he didn't care that Paul had just lost some one or if Paul had been hurt, all he cared about was the car."  
  
Steph couldn't believe that some one could be that heartless, how that man could have been like that to Paul, the sweetest man that she knew.  
  
"That @%#$&*!" Mark mumbled.  
  
Steve and Glenn both just sat there, no words could describe what they where feeling towards that man.  
  
"Daddy, how did you end up helping Paul" Steph asked wanting to just get to the end of it.  
  
"I know that something had to be done. From what Shane had said about Paul in the past and from the times I met him I knew that I had to do something. Linda agreed with me that something had to be done. It took weeks of talking and of just trying to be there for Paul, trying to show him that he could trust me before he finally agreed to get help. We got him into a rehab program and then when he got out he moved in with us. He had alot of issues to work through and with therapy he worked through them."  
  
"I don't understand why didn't you all tell me this before, why didn't Paul tell me. How was it that I never knew ant of this" Steph asked.  
  
"Your mother and I felt that it was best that you didn't know. You were away at school and in the beginning we didn't know how Paul would act. Later he asked that we didn't tell you, he felt ashamed, even though we told him he didn't have anything to be ashamed for, but we respected his wishes."  
  
"Ok I think we understand why but do you really think he's going to start drinking again" Steve asked.  
  
"I hope not but when he said he was sorry I pretty sure he was talking about how he was going to be breaking his promise that he made to me, Shane and his mother" Vince replied.  
  
"And what promise was that" Mark asked.  
  
"He promised that no matter what he was going through that he would come to one of us. That he would never touch the bottle again or turn to coke again. That's why we have to find him, I can't bear to see him go through that again. He's like a son to me" Vince answered with his voice full of emotion.  
  
With tears in her eye's Steph got up and walked over and hugged him saying " we will find daddy."  
  
_____________________________  
  
While Vince was busy filling the four friends in on Paul. Paul was sitting in his car in front of a convience store. He had been sitting there for thirty minutes debating with himself on whether to go in and buy some beer. He hadn't had a drink in over 12 years, never had the desire to take a drink had been as overwhelming as it was right now. The urge to just drink himself into and oblivion and to just forget was overpowering. He needed it; he needed to just forget, to get the pain to just go away.   
  
At the same time he could hear that voice begging him not to do it. Not to waste all his hard work to stay sober. He knew that he would be letting Vince, Shane and his mom down. He had promised them that no matter what he would never turn to the bottle again.  
  
When he left the arena the only thing on his mind was making the pain go away. He knew that Vince would be looking for him, so he drove as far as he could. The whole time memories of his time with Joanie running through his mind. The happiness that they had and how she had just thrown all of that away. Tossed his love aside like it was an old shoe. He didn't know what town his was in, all he knew was that right in front of him was his escape from reality.  
  
He was out of the car an in the store before he knew it. He grabbed a twelve pack of Bud and was paying for it when the cashier asked "aren't you Triple H?"  
  
"Sorry man you've got the wrong guy" he answered as he paid and walked out the door.  
  
Paul drove to the nearest hotel and got a room. Walking in he noticed that he hadn't pick the best place to stay but he was beyond caring. He lay back on the bed with a can in his hand. Before he knew he was once more think about Jo, he had been so happy with her, not since Lanie had he been that happy with a woman. Lanie just her name brought back memories of that night. He remembered holding her in his arms begging her not to leave him. He remembered how the EMT's had to pry him away from her and how they had to tell him that it was to late that she was already gone. Two women in his life both gone for good. One my death and the other by her own choice. With tears running down his face, Paul popped open the can and took a drink. One can after another until he finally passed out. 


End file.
